Monthly Archives: January 2010

I will always be doing a bunch of things in my life, professionally and personally. Whenever I get a new idea, or want to learn or pursue another area of my work, my sweetheart Charlie, always does the same thing. He shakes his head, smiles and says, “And while you’re at it, why not try some underwater basket weaving?” We both laugh. Because we both know that if I could hold my breath longer, I probably would.

So what I’ve learned about myself and my clients is that our lives continues to accelerate at record speed. And the more information we have access to, the more things we want to pursue. We’re a curious species, us human beings.

While I’m a big proponent of less is more, and often do that, or attempt to. I also know that when all the things on the table look so important and delicious, “more” feels like more fun. So how do I balance one more of the great contradictions of life? One motto I’ve adopted in my life is “The faster my outside world is, the slower my inside world needs to become,” meaning the more things I pack into my life, the more I work on slowing down internally and really immersing myself in the task at hand. When I do that, I feel a very deep connection with what I’m doing, and in doing so, I experience greater fulfillment and trust about the rest of my day. All of a sudden those “end of the world” priority shrink in importance and seem to either get done, or are moved to another day without a gulp or lost heartbeat.

Slowing down suggestion- Simple mindfulness technique

Set a timer by your nightstand for 5 minutes a night before. Upon rising, roll over, turn the timer on, either lay down or sit up, and simply just focus on breath, notice the “drunk monkey” mind as the Buddhists say, and then go back to the breath. After timer goes off, read ONE page of a spiritual or uplifting book that connects you with your purpose for the day.

Daily check-ins- Study after study on recovery patterns of both the brain and body say after 90 minutes, like it or not, the body and mind need a break. Again, get up, stretch, do some breathing. Change your breath.

Mindfulness in mayhem- It’s best not to have to wait until your in meltdown mode, but if it happens. STOP! STOP! STOP! Pushing through will never get you where you want to go. Stop, close your eyes, breathe, and say to yourself, “I love you. I forgive you. I thank you. I’m sorry.” Those four statements cover, in a nutshell what stops us in life; guilt, disconnection with our heart, resentment and scarcity.